1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a technique for storing object instances described in an abstract syntax in a relational database schema. In particular, the present invention describes a method and apparatus for storing ASN.1 (see definition below) object instances in a relational database using a language such as SQL (Structured Query Language), although the present invention should not be limited to these particular languages.
2. Background of the Invention
With the advent of OSI standard descriptions of object representations in abstract syntax, it becomes desirable or necessary to store these objects in some form of persistent storage. Current OSI standards (ASN.1 and ASN.1 Basic Encoding Rules) define only how an object representation is laid out within a protocol data stream. However, to store a persistent representation of objects, there is no definition for a storage format. Although object-oriented databases seek to achieve this function, they are not a mature technology at the time of this writing, and are not expected to reach this stage for some time to come.
Relational database products, on the other hand, represent a mature technology. As standard object definition languages (such as ASN.1) gain rapid acceptance for application development, there will be a demand for techniques to store persistent object definitions within the schema of a relational database management system. The current invention addresses this need. It provides a technique for the easy storage of persistent representations of objects defined in source constructs of an abstract syntax, within the schema of a relational database.
The technique will be illustrated in the examples with source constructs in ASN.1 interfaced with relational database requests issued in standard SQL. However, this is not restrictive, as this technique can be used with any abstract syntax using object-oriented macro notation with any relational database.
The following sections describe how such translation could be implemented using a programmed computer. For purposes of this discussion, this programmed computer will be referred to with the tentative name "MIB Schema Compiler" (i.e. A compiler for an Abstract Syntax Notation definition for a Management Information Base, which generates a corresponding database schema definition in, for example, SQL).
All examples in this discussion are from the realm of object modeling in a communications network. With the exception of occasional simplifications for conceptual clarity, all examples conform to object modeling guidelines proposed by various standards bodies. A basic familiarity with object-oriented modeling is assumed.